35 34 #16 Re-connect: a nature-inspired speculative design workshop by Hande Ayanoğlu & Filipa Alves Our planet is increasingly a world designed by man. It is estimated that the total mass of human-made objects has recently exceeded the mass of all living things on Earth. But the impact of human activity on the planet extends far beyond this growing accumulation of objects and buildings. Deeply rooted in an unbalanced relation with nature, humanity faces challenges on many fronts, from climate change to global health crises and severe social and economic inequalities. We are part of nature, but we are progressively creating a world that seems separate from it. It is not. To achieve a sustainable balance with the natural world, we need to deeply understand and learn from nature and explicitly integrate this knowledge into the envisioned future. This is not a new concept. Human invention and creativity have always been inspired by nature. Along the path to better understand nature, we also need to reconnect with our own heritage and ourselves. In this context, it is essential to form multidisciplinary teams in which designers play a key role in defining new paths in the relationship between the artificial and the natural world. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to the fundamental principles of speculative design, bio-inspired design, and the potential of AI as a creative catalyst. Using a combination of analog media, computational modeling and AI tools, we will collaboratively frame and develop speculative scenarios, exploring diverse facets of the future of humanity’s interaction with nature and how they can be integrated into the human environment, from product and spatial design, to urbanism and social interactions. Throughout the workshop, an emphasis is placed on interdisciplinary collaboration and creative thinking, allowing participants to integrate their skills and insights into comprehensive, forward-thinking solutions.
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